Anthrax Vaccination :: essays research papers

The anthrax vaccination is the only known defense available for United States Troops against thedeadly anthrax virus. Many experts pay off said it is not effective against inhalation anthrax. Studies havenot been conclusive in their findings. The chance of living if you have received the anthrax vaccinationseems better. to a greater extent studies should be conducted outside the Department of Defense, with theircooperation, before the process to vaccinate troops continues. anthrax is a disease normally associated with plant eating animals (sheep, goats, and cattle) caused bythe bacteria Bacillius anthracis. It is now controlled through vaccination programs throughout theworld including the United States. Human infection with anthrax usually results from contact withinfected animals or products. Anthrax was spy by Robert Koch in 1876. An effective vaccine foranimals was developed in 1881 by Louis Pasteur. In humans, the disease appears in both external andinternal tropes. The exte rnal form is contracted through cuts and breaks in the skin. The internal form iscaught by inhaling anthrax spores, which invade the lungs and intestinal tract (Funk and Wagnalls NewEncyclopedia, 1996).Russian scientists have created a mod form of the anthrax virus by genetic engineering. Col. ArthurFriedlander , chief of the bacteriology division at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute states, Theevidence that they presented suggested that it could be wicked to our vaccine (Riechman, Army Times03-09-98). When anthrax is used as a biological weapon, people become infected by breathing thespores released in the air. Anthrax is 100,000 times deadlier than the deadliest chemical warfare agent. Itis the preferred biological agent because it is easy to produce in bulk and the materials are low in cost.(B.D.Hawkins,Army Times) Dr. Jose Ramero Cruz, of the World health Organization states,Becauseanthrax spores are resistant to dryness and heat, they are relatively easy to grind and store. U.S. officialssay that as many as 12 countries including Russia, Iraq, and North Korea, have established capabilities toproduce and load deadly anthrax spores into weapons (D.Funk, Army Times, 3-19-98). An anthrax loaded scud missile could kill 100,000 people in an urban area according to a 1993 study, Proliferationof Weapons of Mass Destruction Assessing the Risks, (J. Erlich, Army Times, 9-8-97). No country isknown to have released the biological agent during wartime. Anthrax has the potential to cover largeareas of the battlefield. It is not known what branch of service, front line, or rear area troops would be atgreater risks. Defense escritoire William Cohen stated, Anthrax is the poor mans atomic bomb (D.